


And Everything Must Start From Here

by Ofi



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:09:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1649765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ofi/pseuds/Ofi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She turns 18 on Earth and she isn't dead. She can't help but feel a little cheated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Why the long face, Princess?"

He has this way of saying that nickname that is all disdain and bastard-smugness, even when she's doing him a favor by taking the first rounds of the pre-dawn watch. Clarke is too tired to return the banter. She stares at the forest through the cracks in the wall.

"It's my birthday. Six months ago that would have meant that I'd have been dead by now"

Bellamy scoffs, coming to stand next to her near the gate of the camp wall. "What good does thinking like that do you here? In fact, you'd be better off contemplating how we need to take a team out for water right after dawn"

She doesn't answer, choosing instead to watch him rummage through his pack in preparation for his watch. She'd insisted that they take the most undesirable hours of the rotation, arguing that it would humanize them. _"unless you'd like them to start calling us Chancellor behind our backs"_

Clarke grabs her own pack and starts towards her tent, pausing only when she hears him call after her. 

"Sleep in today, Princess. Consider it your birthday present"

"Go fuck yourself" she calls back without malice.

His laughter follows her to her tent, and she smiles to herself in the faint dawn light.

\---

Their alliance, for all it faults, had proven best for all parties. Frightened by Charlotte's death and Well's murder, the group had easily accepted their rules. They argued less these days but, then again, they were hardly the same people who landed on the ground 6 months ago. Bellamy's temper had softened; Clarke became more aware of the violent reality of their new surroundings and what surviving required of them.

Their alliance is on her mind as she lies in her tent and tries to ignore the sounds of nature waking up around her. She's 18 and she isn't dead.

As she drifts off to sleep she can't help but feel a little cheated. While she never imagined turning 18 on earth, she'd at least hoped to have a boyfriend. Instead, she gets to use words like "alliance" and "partnership" and try to ignore the loneliness of co-leadership.

\---

It feels like minutes later that someone is shaking her awake.

As her eyes adjust to the light flooding her tent, the she blearily focuses on Bellamy and Octavia above her. It's Octavia who is shaking her but Bellamy is the one talking. 

"Wake up Princess, we've got an emergency"

Ignoring exhaustion, she stands and follows them out.

Octavia is babbling, frightened, and Clarke is too tired to make out any words she's saying. Bellamy puts a hand on her shoulder (Clarke thinks for a brief second, of the first time he taught her to shoot a gun) and orders Octavia away.

"How bad is it?" she asks as they approach the drop ship. She can already hear screaming and there is blood all over the entrance.

"They left the spear in" 

\---

There is so much blood.

As she stumbles from the drop ship, she tries to gulp in as much fresh air as possible, trying to rid her lungs of the metallic aftertaste coating her mouth. She sinks onto the ground and wonders if this is what shock feels like. 

She should feel triumphant. The fact that she managed to remove a spear from someone's abdomen, check that the organs were all in the original positions, and stitch them up may be her crowning achievement as camp doctor. 

"Are you okay?"

She looks up to Bellamy staring down at her, his face curiously absent of any emotion. "Might not be good for camp morale to see our doc just sitting in a pool of blood"

She glances past Bellamy in time to see most of the camp comically look away, trying their best to not gawk at the scene before them.

"I don't think I can wash all this off without using our week's worth of water rations." she tells him, still not moving and speaking more to ground than at him.

"Is he dead?"

"No. I managed to sow him back up. It was like Jasper's wounds, it's like they know how to miss all the important organs but draw the most blood. As long I can keep the infection out, he'll make it."

"Not bad, Princess. Now get up."

He holds out his hand and she decides to blame the shock when she reaches up and takes it. She drops it as soon as she's up. 

"Come on" he commands, jerking his head towards the camp gate. 

"I'm not sure if you've noticed that I'm hardly presentable for any outings, Bellamy."

"It’s your birthday, Princess. Let's get you cleaned up"

"I just said I can't waste water on this" she tries to keep her voice steady though she already feels the blood drying and cracking on her skin. She has no idea how she'll get it all off… and if that boy in the drop ship dies, she wonders if she ever will.

"I'll take you to the river. I'd say you've earned a proper bath"

"Not sure how proper it'll be with you around" she mumbles heading towards her tent, focusing on her steps. He follows her inside and she can already hear the whispers in the camp.

"Look, you said we need to keep the infection out. We'll need more of that seaweed you and Spacewalker found for Jasper. We can stock up and you can get that blood off. I'd tell Spacewalker to take you but you two haven't been so chummy since Raven got here"

"Shut up, Bellamy" she warns. Her tent feels too small and warm with him there. She just wants to rest. She wants to lie down and think of her family, of the rare treats her father promised he'd sneak her for her 18th birthday. She wants to wonder if the formal medical training she would have been learning right now would have made sowing a child back together easier than it was. 

But each time she closes her eyes all she sees is the inside of the airlock that would have floated her. She smells blood. And how many more times will she be able to cheat death?

So she opens her eyes, and looks wearily up to Bellamy. "Ok" she tells him, "Give me five minutes"

\---

"You are going to have to turn around" 

They've reached the river after a pointedly quiet trek through the woods. The silence is part due to trying to listen for any grounders and in other part because ever since she told Bellamy that she and the camp needed him, she's not quite sure what she else’s supposed to say (unless someone says that magical word, ‘emergency’ that suddenly turns them both into eloquent orators).

Bellamy is settling down on boulder by the river's edge. He quirks an eyebrow at her demand and retorts, "Seriously? What if there's grounders?"

"Well, I can assure you that they certainly aren't hiding under my shirt. Turn the hell around."

He laughs, "Whatever, Princess" but he turns around and Clarke steps tentatively into the water.

"Is it cold?" Bellamy asks. She's up to her waist. She makes sure he isn't looking before reaching down and unbuckling her pants. She inhales sharply as the freezing water swirls against her skin. 

After a moment, she wades further in and when she's up to her neck, she pulls off her shirt and attempts to wash both it and herself in record time. 

"It's colder than it was a few months ago, there's probably ice already up the mountain. We need to keep preparing for winter. I think it may be here sooner than we expected," she finally answers.

"Do you think we should double our efforts on harvesting perishables or focus on making the bunker livable?"

"I think perishables would be better. Food and medic supplies will run out a month into winter at the rate we're going. We can always get wood to reinforce the bunker and maybe try to rotate a few of us between the bunker and the drop ship. And if we get very desperate and the bunker isn't ready, the drop ship should be enough to house what's left of us"

This part comes easily for her- if there's one thing she's been able to focus on since Wells died and her life went to hell, it's on keeping what's left of the 100 alive. And ever since that night in the bunker, their partnership has been even easier. While the nickname he gave her stuck, he treated more like his equal than the opposition. Survival, the great unifier. 

"Did you wash your clothes already?"

It's an innocuous question but she can't help but blush. "What?"

"If you already washed them, hand them over. You need to let them dry before you put them back on. If you're right about winter getting an early jump on us, it's going to start getting colder at night and wearing wet clothes isn't going to help"

Holding her shirt and pants out of the water, she quickly inspects them and is pleased to find them back to a better, if tattered, condition. 

"Catch" she instructs and Bellamy finally turns towards her to snag what she's thrown. She watches him carefully lay them out on the rock next to him. 

"Is that all?"

"Excuse me?"

Bellamy sighs, exasperatedly running a hand through his hair. "Seriously, Princess, I lived with women my whole life… it won't be the first or last time I've seen a bra or underwear"

She knows he's right, but the idea of swimming around naked with him around waiting for her clothes to dry seems impossible.

"I'll just get out and wait to dry off,” she says.

"Works for me" he retorts. "We still need to find that damn seaweed"

Cautiously, she steps out of the water, slightly hunched over and trying her best to discreetly cover herself.

"You have nothing I haven't seen before" Bellamy says laughing. He's sunning himself on the rock and the whole situation feels bizarrely normal for a day that started off with pulling a spear out of a 15 year olds stomach. So much for discreteness. 

She decides to ignore him instead and walk along the shoreline, looking for the seaweed. It's sparse but she gathers what she hopes will be enough. When she turns back to where Bellamy is sitting, she catches him staring.

As she opens her mouth to say something about it, she's cutoff by the sound of an all-too familiar grounder horn.

"The storm" Bellamy says. Next thing she knows he's shoving her clothes at her and she tries to quickly get them on _andthereisn'tenoughtimeohgodohgoddon'tthinkofAtom_

She's barely jammed her feet into her shoes when he grabs her hand.

And then they are running.  
\---


	2. Chapter 2

"There are beds in this room, at least we'll be comfortable until the storm passes"

Her clothes are still damp on her skin, and the bunker is cold enough that she has to try to keep her teeth from chattering. She still isn't sure how they got here, to the bunker. She'd blindly followed Bellamy and didn't look back just as he had instructed. She hadn't realized where they were until he suddenly stopped before the heavy door and pushed her in before climbing after her and shutting the door behind him. It wasn't until they were inside that he'd dropped her hand.

Bellamy reappears in the room and tosses something at her. 

"Found more blankets. Dry your clothes, Princess. I can't have you getting sick"

He turns away quickly and says over his shoulder "I'm going to look around some more"

Her shirt still has a darker spots from where she couldn't get the bloodstains out. She lays them along with her pants across the steel bed frame and gathers the blanket around herself as she strains to listen for Bellamy's footsteps.

She wonders about the people who lived here after the wars. She wonders how long it took for them to realize that their life would end within these walls, that they'd never see the outside they were so desperately trying to escape when they shut those doors behind them and never opened them again. 

She hopes everyone at camp heard the warning and found shelter.

"Are you okay?" Bellamy asks and Clarke looks up to see him leaning against the doorframe, dark eyes peering intently at her. How long had he been standing there?

She shrugs in response. "I'm freezing, my clothes are wet, it feels like I've still got blood under my fingernails, and we are stuck here until the storm passes. But considering that six months ago, my eighteenth birthday would have meant I'd be dead- I guess this isn’t so bad."

Bellamy laughs and from behind his back produces two black-labeled bottles filled with clear liquid. "On that note, it seems our ancestors were determined to be trashed for the apocalypse. There's a whole shelf of nothing but vodka. Happy birthday, Princess"

He sits on the bed next to her and offers the bottle to her, which she takes and inspects. "It's antiseptic you know, plus a decent pain killer, and it lets you forget how hungry you are. That's what they used in the older wars, before anesthesia was invented."

"Always the scholar" Bellamy says, uncorking his bottle and raising it towards her. "A toast to our camp medic"

The words border on friendly, and it's unexpected enough that she thanks him before opening her own bottle and clinking it against his.

She takes a deep swig, feels it burning down her chest, and can't help but make a face. Bellamy laughs again and Clarke can't think of a time that she's heard him sound happy. 

"Come on, this stuff goes down much smoother than whatever Monty has managed to make. It's even better than what I had on the ark for my 18th birthday"

She'd forgotten that among their rag-tag group of lost children, their fearless leader wasn't a boy.

"How old are you, always?" she asks. She loosens her grip on the blanket, as she leans forward, feeling the alcohol warming her system. They both raise their bottles at the same time.

"21" Bellamy answers after a particularly long swig

"Practically ancient" she teases, "Do you have gray hair yet?"

She scoots closer to him, inspecting his face intently.

He looks markedly uncomfortable. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for gray hair,” she says and without thinking she reaches out to touch his face in her search.

It takes her a moment to realize how close they are, she feels his breath on her skin, short and choppy. They don't say anything else.

She kisses him first.

She's 18 and she's not dead and she took a spear out of someone today and feels like she deserves one moment of madness (a moment who doesn't have a girlfriend who will literally drop from the sky for him).

Bellamy stays still against her and she pulls back a little, her moment of madness over and mortification settling in its place.

"Sorry" she says breathlessly, "I'm really sor-"

She doesn't get to finish her rushed apology because Bellamy kisses her back, and she tastes the bite of vodka and it's so different from Finn and all the boys she ever kissed back on Ark. Bellamy kisses her like the world isn't ending, and there isn't anything beyond the two of them in the bunker. No wonder there was a line of girls outside his tent every night. 

He tangles long fingers in her hair, urging her forward, and Clarke doesn't even bother holding onto the blanket anymore as she presses herself against him. She shivers against the feel of his clothing on her skin; Bellamy just groans and pulls her closer.

"Well, this is unexpected" Bellamy murmurs against her skin she they break apart to breath. "Sure you didn't have too much to drink?"

She shakes her head no, as Bellamy lifts her chin up with a finger, and stares at her intently, "We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. We'll pretend we are little more drunk than we actually are and we'll never talk about this" 

She laughs softly "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me" and presses her mouth against his once more. 

Clarke shoves his jacket off his shoulders and quickly tugs on his shirt and he obliges by quickly pulling it over his head. Bellamy is kissing her neck and Clarke is having problems forming full mental sentences. She unbuckles his pants without a second thought and sighs as he runs his fingers down her back. Here they pause again, each eyeing the other with unexpected bashfulness.

Then Bellamy gently pushes her down on the bed and the last full thought Clarke has is how very small she feels. 

“Destroyer of worlds” she thinks and then there is no more time for rational thoughts.

\---

"Even if the Ark only drops another 100 people, we still won't have enough room for everyone" 

Bellamy looks confused as Clarke slowly sits up next to him, pulling one of the blankets around herself. She’s had time to think as Bellamy slept next to her. She'd chosen not to think about their current, undressed predicament.

The movement of covers slides one of the other blankets off of him and she sees the defined lines of his hips (she wills herself not to blush, to stomp down the memories of last night). He rubs his still half-lidded eyes and Clarke commits the moment to memory, something that she'll sketch to remember him by.

"You're pretty terrible at the 'morning-after' talk, Princess" 

Clarke shrugs in response and tries to ignore the way Bellamy is looking at her. She never quite mastered deciphering the looks of the opposite sex and she figures that testing out her shaky skills on Bellamy isn't a great idea.

"What's there to talk about? This happened and we don't have to make anything of it"

She stands up, clutching the blanket around her body and takes another look at him. He's tall enough that he almost doesn't fit on the bed, his feet are propped up on the metal frame and he hasn't bothered getting dressed. 

"I'm impressed, I thought for sure you were going to declare your undying love for me"

She can't help but smile as she gathers her clothing and awkwardly tries to get dressed while still keeping the blanket up. Behind her Bellamy scoffs, "No need for shyness, Princess. Unless you're already having regrets?"

And here she hears the small ting of bitterness to his words and she vigorously shakes her head no. 

"No regrets. But this probably isn't something we are going to do again, is it? It's not like I've seen the same girl at your tent twice." 

That shuts him up. 

He stands soon after, gets dressed, and asks if she's ready to go.

\---

As they make their way to camp in the early morning light, they talk lightly as if nothing has happened.

She finally see the walls of the camp appear and can hear the kids on watch happily yelling to the rest of the camp of their arrival. 

Clarke isn’t dead and the walls of their camp are still standing. And for now, it is enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for all the views, kudos, bookmarks, and comments! It's been so long since I've actually published a fanfic that I was so nervous to send this off into the world. Thanks again for taking the time!


	3. Chapter 3

After that night, the once steady stream of beautiful older girls not-so-subtly lining outside his tent that she'd see every night over her way to relieve Bellamy of guard duty abruptly comes to an end. 

Not that it was her business, she'd sternly remind herself each time she tapped his shoulder and told him to go get some sleep. 

In fact, since that night things had been so spectacularly, if subtly, awkward between them that they've been quickly agreeing with almost all of each other suggestions. They haven't argued, but Clarke attributes that to the fact that they've barely spoken enough to start an argument. They've separately led record number of expeditions outside of camp to gather supplies, and she wonders if he's avoiding her as much as she's avoiding him. 

Luckily, the rush to prepare for winter has been so frenzied that no one in the camp has noticed. Save for Octavia, who comes looking for Bellamy as they are awkwardly deciding who will lead the expedition to start the transfer of supplies to the bunker.

"What is with you two?" she asks incredulously, casting her glance back and for the between them. "Since when do the camp Mommy and Daddy get along?"

Bellamy offers some vague response and Clarke turns away, mumbling something about getting back to work. Never had she been so happy she had a bleeding patient to attend to.

\---

A month after what Clarke has taken to calling the-event-in-the-bunker, Octavia suggests they should have a bonfire party that very evening to celebrating having met their goals for winter preparation. She's managed to corner them both in the drop ship (she dragged Bellamy to Clarke's makeshift sick bay) and she's gesturing wildly in a manner that means, as Clarke learned, that she won’t be dropping the subject until she gets her way.

"If you can get the group to gather the food they'll eat at this thing, I'll okay it. No touching the reserves for anything that isn't alcohol" Bellamy says when he can get a word in. "That ok with you Princess?"

She nods absentmindedly, wondering if Bellamy noticed that Finn was in the sick bay.

She wonders if he heard.

Octavia skips away, all but yelling the news of the night's festivities. 

"What wrong with Spacewalker?" Bellamy asks when his little sister is out of earshot.

"That old wound is bothering him" 

The lie comes easier than she expected. It's the first time in months that she's lied to him.

\--

Night comes quickly and she watches with interest as the older boys manage to build an impressive fire out of the wood scraps. While it remains unspoken, there is the silent understanding that this may be the last outdoor gathering they have. The mornings have begun to get colder and they have found chunks of ice downstream. Soon they'll all be locked away in the bunker. 

More than one person has commented how the bunker reminds them of being incarcerated on the Ark. She tries not to think about that too much.

She sips her moonshine instead. Monty had found her sitting alone and held up a container with a boyish grin, "You and Bellamy get the first round."

She'd tried to protest but the grin on Monty's face had quickly slipped, "You saved my life Clarke. And I can probably never pay you back for that, so I can at least make sure you get first dibs at whatever I make"

The relief on Monty's face when she'd accepted the cup was undeniable, and he happily scampered off, holding the container above head and darting among the group pouring drinks.

"Our own little Bacchus"

Bellamy says as he steps next to her, holding his own cup. The two survey the camp and there is an undeniable feeling of hope among the survivors. 

"We did good, didn't we?" he asks her. She knows he's referring to their partnership. The bunker has been reinforced, supplies to last months have been gathered, and they even had a few volunteers for the first rotation between the drop ship and the bunker. For all their recent awkwardness, they've managed to keep the group not only alive, but also thriving. 

"We really did,” she says and she holds her cup up to his for a toast. She thinks of the-event-in-the-bunker and the vodka bottles and she's the first one to look away. Her face feels flushed and she wants to blame the alcohol even though she knows that’s a lie. 

The moment is interrupted by Finn who, pointedly ignoring Bellamy, approaches them and says to her "We need to talk"

Bellamy snorts "Last time this happened, we ended up getting dragged halfway across the mountain and attacked by grounders."

"In private" Finn insists.

Suddenly she can breathe again, though her stomach is churning, so she nods and walks away from Bellamy with Finn following. Earlier in the drop ship, before Bellamy and Octavia came, Finn had come looking for her, spouting about his feelings. He’d reached for her and Clarke had physically recoiled. The Blake siblings had crashed the scene seconds later.

But she doesn't let Finn talk and as they are walking she says in a low voice, "What happened between us was months ago, I've moved on. I suggest you do too. Stop looking for me while I'm working. I don't need flowers, and I don't need mores sculptures. I need you to be Raven's boyfriend and my friend and the group's tracker. I need things to go back to what they were."

She stops in front of the tent that she knows Raven is currently inside of, still testing ammunition and tinkering with spare parts. "You definitely aren't alone here, Finn. You should treasure that."

"Hey Raven?" she calls, and moments later Raven emerges, warily eyeing her and Finn. Clarke puts on her most perfected smile, "Finn dropped by the sick bay today and said that wound is bothering him, I think Jasper may have some balm that will work. I'll drop it off to you tomorrow, ok?"

Raven's guarded stance softens and she even smiles at Clarke, "I can come by the sick bay if that would be easier for you."

"Perfect" Clarke says and she's almost surprised by her own sincerity. "You guys should join the bonfire tonight, you've definitely earned a break."

She turns around to leave them there and locks eyes with Bellamy, who is standing near the fire and not even trying to hide the fact that he's looking at the three of them with curiosity.

Looking at Bellamy's face, she can tell the exact moment when he realizes what's happened. She walks toward him and he gestures at the spot next to him. As they sit, she braces herself for ridicule and harsh words. Instead, he laughs. "Makes sense" he murmurs to her, "It's not the first time I've been a revenge fuck"

Clarke shoots him a look and hisses, "I have no idea what you're talking about"

He continues undeterred "Never would have pegged Spacewalker as your type though. You don't like recklessness that doesn't serve a purpose"

"And how would you know what I like?"

She regrets the words as soon as they are out of her mouth because Bellamy has that same smug-bastard grin he gets when he knows he's gained the upper hand. She's glad that it's dark because she's certain that her face is red.

But he doesn't say anything. 

\---

She retreats to her tent later, when the numbers at the fire have dwindled down and Bellamy is engrossed in a conversation about gun training with another former cadet. She doubts anyone sees her leave.

She tries hard to get comfortable on her makeshift bed of castoff clothing and for a moment wishes for the comfort of the bed in the bunker. But that only reminds her of Bellamy's lanky frame languishing carelessly that morning.

“Clarke?”

As if on cosmic cue, it’s him outside of her tent. How does she keep missing the sound of his footsteps, she wonders.

She could pretend that she's asleep, help bolster the ruse that his words about Finn hadn't struck a chord. Whatever he must want doesn't seem urgent. Usually he sends Octavia into her tent when there's an emergency or thoughtlessly barges in himself. 

She sighs, stands up, and moves to open the flap of the tent. What's one more bad decision involving Bellamy Blake?

"Yeah?"

Wordlessly he pushes past her inside. Casting one look around camp for anyone who may have seen him enter, she closes the flap and turns towards him.

"What's wrong?" she asks him. 

He shrugs "You disappeared, I wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine,” she says, a little too rushed, "You didn't have to check up on me, Bellamy"

He doesn't move to leave and Clarke is again reminded how small her tent feels anytime he's around. She's impatient for him to leave. "Anything else?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, I forgot" and with a mischievous grin, he closes the short distance between them and kisses her.

She relaxes into the kiss a little faster than she'll ever admit. The chance to spend a few hours forgetting everything besides what she feels when Bellamy touches her is too tempting to pass up.

As he kisses her neck, she pulls impatiently at his shirt and his hand snakes up under hers. Moments later, the floor is covered in scattered clothing and Bellamy has her pinned to the ground as he kisses a line down from her mouth down her chest and past her bellybutton. 

Clarke is seeing stars again and Bellamy is smiling and whispering at her to hush. 

\---

"It wasn’t about revenge,” she tells him afterwards. 

Sunlight is barely starting to illuminate her tent and she wonders who Bellamy got to cover their watch. They are picking at their clothes and it feels easier than it did the first time. She wonders if that should worry her. 

Bellamy pauses, threads an arm around her waist, pulls her close and kisses her hard. He smiles, she assumes, at her dazed expression.

"Whatever you have to tell yourself" 

\---


	4. Chapter 4

It's after the 3rd time, when she's trying to catch her breath as she stares at the bunker ceiling and Bellamy is already tracing lazy, invisible lines on her skin, that she manages to say, "We need to talk."

Bellamy is silent for a beat before replying, with a cheshire grin, "What's there to talk about?"

She almost calls him an ass, and has a brief vision of storming away until she remembers that these were her words after the first time. She smiles back.

"This is ok, isn't it?" She hears the slight hesitation in her voice and it feels like weakness. Bellamy stops his tracing and Clarke has never been so glad that the bunker has only dim light.

"This is ok" he responds, spreading his hand across her hip, an act that feels almost possessive.  
\---

It isn't desperation that drives these moments she thinks. She assumes they both got that out of their system in their first weeks on Earth, her through Finn and he through that blurred rotation of women.

Maybe it's loneliness. 

The way he holds her makes her forget everything else and she's noticed his reaction when she says his name in broken syllables right as she comes. How he grips her a little tighter and gives her this look and Clarke has to remind herself to breathe as the world collapses in on itself. 

She wonders, as she drifts off to sleep, listening to steady drum of his heart, how long this can all last.

\---

It's after the fifth time that Clarke decides she will stop keeping count. 

\---

A week later it starts to snow early in the morning. With one quick conversation, Clarke and Bellamy decide that they should move into the bunker that afternoon. 

There is an air of excitement and even Bellamy relents that the move can wait for a few minutes while what remains of the 100 marvels at the soft, white flakes falling from the skies. Clarke watches Octavia running around like a very headstrong but adorable loon, whooping and grabbing at Jasper who is staring at the girl with nothing but unveiled adoration. 

In fact, most of the group seems to have a significant other that they are casting meaningful looks at in the midst of the breathtaking snowfall. Clarke glances over to see Raven burrowed under Finn's arm and it's almost a comforting sight. She turns to Bellamy who is holding out a palm and quizzically staring from the flakes gathering in his hand to Octavia and Jasper who are now shyly holding hands. 

Bellamy sighs, "And I thought the heat made us do crazy things"

They walk next to each for the trek to the bunker. It's snowing harder and they are both carrying heavy packs. She knows he slows down his long strides so that they can stay side by side.

\---

Even for all their planning, the first few days in the bunker are complete madness. For the first few nights, the whole group is sleeping in two separate rooms while they decide who to place where and how to best store their supplies. 

They open the door to the bunker only twice in the first three days. It hasn't stopped snowing and in the early morning light, the scenery is dazzling but worrisome. 

"There's no hiding in this" Finn tells Bellamy, as Raven and Clarke shiver along side them. "Maybe at night but even an amateur tracker will be able to trace our footsteps back here in the dawn if stops snowing. If we go back to the drop ship, we'd basically be giving the grounders a step by step map"

"Plus, this snow is going to fry all of our electric equipment if we expose it for too long. Gun powder will be useless too" Raven interjects.

Bellamy sighs, "That's what I was afraid of." 

Clarke spends the rest of the day artfully dodging the question of when they can go back outside.

\---

Bellamy and Octavia are nowhere to be found on the morning of the 4th day. She'd worry but there's an argument brewing over what room Monty and Jasper can set up the few plants they lugged with them. 

The day consists managing one crisis after another. Bellamy finally deems it time to appear after she's settled what room the guns needs to be stored in. 

"Where have you been?" she demands, "It's been insane and I needed you-"

"I've got a surprise for you"

"I've told you before, a brand new wound or an allergic reaction does not a surprise make"

"It's a good one, I promise"

He makes her close her eyes and leads her through the bunker's twists and turns by keeping a hand on her shoulder and pushing her toward their destination She can hear the others laughing as she rounds each corner, already in on the secret. 

Then he stops and she hears him open a door and gently tugs her inside.

"Alright, Princess, open your eyes."

The room is mostly empty but her medical supplies have been carefully amassed in one corner. There are two beds neatly arranged in a row. On a metal table, there are three of the black-labeled vodka bottles that Clarke almost assumes that Bellamy placed there as a reminder of their first night in the bunker when she rattled off drinks three purposes.

"Your very own sick bay" he announces. She can't help but laugh and say thank you over and over until he looks embarrassed 

"We had more room than we thought,” he says with a shrug.

"How's that?" she asks, already preoccupied with arranging the space.

"Some couples decided to bunk together versus sleeping in the smaller rooms alone. Anyways, this is one of the few rooms near the water supply so I thought that would be helpful. Plus there's this" with a smile he walks across the room and opens a door, "It's also has a decent sized room attached. You can have your own space if you don't want to sleep in the girl's common room"

She has never been more tempted to kiss him in public; instead she lightly touches his arm and meets his eyes "Thank for you this, really. Thank you so much Bellamy"

"Hey, I helped too!" Clarke is already pulling back her hand and smiling at Octavia who is now rattling off all the work she did.

Rationally, Clarke knows the sick bay is a necessity, and that if Bellamy hadn't set this up, the sick bay would have become wherever she happened to be standing when an emergency was brought to her bleeding. Necessity has dictated every one of their needs since they landed on Earth. But when she catches Bellamy's gaze as he's leaving, and he smiles at her… the whole thing feels more like a gift.

\---


	5. Chapter 5

Octavia is the one who catches them. Bellamy has her pressed against some shadowy, _supposedly empty_ , part of the bunker with one hand in her hair and the other making to undo her pants and Clarke is so lost in that kiss that it barely registers that someone has said "Oh my God"

The both turn immediately to see Octavia standing there, shocked enough that she repeats her words again "Oh my God"

Then she turns and runs.

Clarke lets out a string of obscenities and Bellamy puts his hands on either side of his face, forcing her to keep eye contact.

"I will fix this" he keeps saying over and over. "Let me fix this"

And then he takes off after his sister.

\---

"Would it be so bad if the others knew?" Octavia's face is full of sincere curiosity as she's taking a seat on one of the sick beds. It's been a few days since they were found out but as far as Clarke can tell Bellamy managed to convince his sister to keep their secret. Clarke pauses rifling though medical supplies to sit next to her. She was surprised that Octavia bothered to show up for their daily medical lesson. 

"This thing with your brother… it can't last, Octavia. Eventually one of us is going to have to come to our senses" 

The last line earns a small chuckle from the younger Blake.

"When that time comes, it would be easier if it wasn't something that affected the camp. I don't want people taking sides or feeling weird about it"

"Makes sense, I guess" Octavia says and nods. "But he cares about you, you know that right? My brother _begged_ me not to tell anyone I'd seen you two. I can't remember the last time Bell asked instead of demanded."

The two fall silent. 

"It's just a little weird" Octavia finally offers but quickly adds with a bright smile "But a good weird. I won't tell anyone."

\---

"Oh shit. I uh…Sorry"

Clarke will spend the rest of the day wondering why she's the one who apologized. But at the moment, she is still holding the handle to Bellamy's door and staring at the leggy brunette who has an arm around Bellamy's neck and is leaning up for a kiss.

For a moment Clarke sees red, ugly emotions clawing at her chest-

And then she doesn't feel anything. She steps back. "You're busy. I'll just talk to you later"

She takes great pains not to slam the door and puts more concentration into not running than she's put into some of her trickier medical procedures. She's two corridors away when she hears his heavy footsteps and him asking anyone in the hall if they've seen her.

She fights the urge to duck into a shadowy corner and watch him fly past her. Instead she lets him catch up and turns around with a bright smile when his hand grabs her shoulder to stop her from moving. 

"Clarke-"

"I was just going to tell you was that I need to put together a team to gather some more seaweed. Running lower than I like. Sorry to interrupt"

"That wasn't-" he's out of breath and sputtering, still holding onto her shoulder "Let me explain."

" 'What is there to talk about?' " She smiles widely, even though it hurts, and with a sidestep disengages from his hand. As she turns and walks away, she's almost happy she can't read his expression. 

\---

She spends the rest of the day lying in her room and wondering when the last time she cried was.

Was it as she buried Wells? No, she cried when Charlotte jumped off the cliff days later. Did she cry when the Exodus ship hit the Earth and she still thought it carried her mother? She can't remember and ransacking her memories for the terrible moments that may or may have not earned tears is giving her a headache. 

She wonders if she should be angry but she's too exhausted to feel much. It's not like she and Bellamy had made any agreement and they certainly weren't in a relationship. They had sex regularly and he made her laugh and they had been falling asleep together more often, but that hadn't official bound them to each other. Feelings were never discussed. So, logically, he had every right to be kissing whoever he'd like.

There is a knock on her door, insistent and loud and she hears the handle being rattled about. She's glad she remembered to lock it. "Open the door Princess."

Bellamy sounds angry and it confuses her for a moment, she should be the offended party. He keeps knocking. "Come on, Clarke" he says in a softer voice. "Please."

Oh and she almost does, because like Octavia said just the day before, Bellamy rarely asks, he just demands. He takes and pillages and Clarke could have stopped this all long ago. She could stop it now.

But then she remembers she hid a bottle of vodka in her room in the first week they moved into the bunker. Worried that the dwindling supply would be used more to relieve camp boredom versus keeping the med bay stocked, she'd stashed a bottle in case of extreme emergency. She retrieves it from the bundle hidden under her bed and stares at it thinking of their first night. She'd called him ancient but six months later and she's the one who feels like she's lived too long. 

Clarke twists the cap off and drinks deeply- she doesn't grimace this time. The burn is comforting and she doesn't cry.

Adulthood suits her, she thinks.

\---

A few hours later, the bottle is empty and she's successfully ignored the trickle of people who've entered the med bay looking for her. 

She's hungry and, Bellamy be damned, she's tired of hiding out in her room.

The world spins a little when her feet touch the ground and it takes her moment to realize that she's drunk. And she'd laugh about it if she weren't dwelling on the fact that so far all her alcoholic experiences have been because of boys, with boys, in spite of boys, or at the recommendation of boys. Clarke wonders if maybe Raven knows any drinking games as she turns the handle to her door and steps out into the sick bay. 

Clarke half expected him to be sitting on one of the beds waiting for her but then she remembers leggy brunettes and almost throws up. 

She staggers quietly through the bunker, happy that everyone seems to be asleep, on her way to the mess hall. It's a short walk from the med bay. 

Raven is sitting alone at one of the two tables in mess hall and she looks up abruptly. Even in her drunken state, Clarke can see the redness in her eyes.

Neither says anything for a moment until Clarke blurts out "Is there any food left?"

Her voice is slurred and she's holding onto the wall to keep the room from spinning. Raven bursts into laughter "Are you drunk?"

Clarke shrugs lazily as she walks over to the table (not too gracefully if the look of amusement on Raven's face is any indication). "Seemed like a good idea at the time"

"I can't imagine what would be so bad that you'd think drinking was the solution" Raven pushes her plate of dried vegetables over to her and with a mumbled thank you Clarke proceeds to shovel food into her mouth. 

After a few moments of chewing, and staring at her plate, she says, "I'm sleeping with Bellamy"

When she finally manages to sheepishly look up at the other girl, Raven's face is the picture of surprise but Clarke finds no judgment. 

"That's a reason" Raven says with a nod and there's none of the pity Clarke expected in her voice. Clarke laughs. Now she feels like crying.

\---

She ends up telling Raven the whole story. They are in the med bay passing a bottle between them quietly, each mulling over what the other has said. It's freeing to tell someone else the whole sordid tale, and to bond with someone with whom there is little chance she'll end up in bed with. 

"So what happens now?" Raven asks after a swig. 

Just as she's about to answer, she hears familiar footsteps and Raven, who Clarke decides should never play poker, looks surprised and says "Huh"

"There you are." 

Her back is to the doorframe so she can't see Bellamy but even in her drunken stupor she notices how tired he sounds. Raven stands in one fluid motion, an impressive feat since Clarke watched her guzzle half a bottle. "I think that's my cue"

"Wait-" Clarke stands and turns and it all happens a little too fast because the world continues to turn even after she's firmly planted her feet. She grabs the nearest bucket and empties her stomach into it. Someone's holding her hair and has a hand on her back, and the hands feel far too big to be Raven's.

"Get her to bed" she hears Raven call as she leaves the room. _Traitor._

"Not a bad idea" Bellamy says as Clarke straightens out. He hands her his canteen and she swirls water into her mouth and spits back into the bucket. She stares at him defiantly and he doesn't even have the courtesy to look uncomfortable. "Are you going to let me talk now or should I go find you more booze so you can keep throwing your tantrum?"

"And we're done here" Clarke says backing away. Bellamy sighs, runs a hand through his hair, and shoots her a helpless look. 

"You realize she threw herself at me right?"

"You expect me to believe that?" she retorts. 

He nods "Yeah I do."

They both fall silent. 

"This thing we're doing… I like it" Bellamy admits quietly "It's simpler than I thought it'd be. Why would I bother bribing my sister to keep quiet if we both basically had an out when Octavia found us? Why would I even be having this conversation with you?"

She feels sick again and stupid and her face must betray her because Bellamy looks worried for a moment and makes to reach out for her. She lets him tangle his fingers in her hair, her eyes closed, and thinks of what to say in response. 

“Sorry” she mumbles "I think I should go the bed now" 

She walks past him into her room, says goodnight with a shaky smile, and closes the door. She falls asleep almost instantly.

\---

The next morning he is waiting for her when she leaves her room with water and food. He grins when she groans "Feeling better?"

"Yeah" she says accepting the offerings shyly. 

"That's good"

She kisses him before he goes. 

So much for one of them coming to their senses.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me! This chapter got put to the wayside while I moved and mourned over whatever the heck that season finale was. 
> 
> Plus I wanted to integrate more characters into this chapter versus keeping Bellamy and Clarke in their own bubble world. And forgive me for using the 'misunderstandings between us' trope. But cliches can be fun every once in awhile.


	6. Chapter 6

Their second month in the bunker begins peacefully.

They talk more and not just about the Ground and the 100. Clarke asks all the burning questions she'd been saving onto about his life on the Ark. She carefully prods into what it was like to hide Octavia for so many years, she asks about being a Cadet. He asks about her father and of being incarcerated and what made her choose medicine over engineering. 

As for the rest of the 100, they adapt easier to the bunker than expected. Some take to teaching and learning new fighting techniques, refining rudimentary moves they picked up in the Ark. Other work on weapons and tinker with old tech found in the bunker. Romances are quieter and the close quarters make it easier to forge new friendships. A few kids show a knack for storytelling, keeping the youngest well entertained into the middle of the night.

The first time Bellamy holds her hand is as they are listening to a one such storyteller with everyone crammed into a room gathered around a dark-skinned young man named Eddison who is telling the Greek myth of Persephone. Clarke is standing next to Bellamy close enough that their arms are bumped against each other. And as Eddison raises and lowers his voice much to the amusement of the younger kids, Clarke brushes her hand against Bellamy's and immediately he laces his fingers through hers.

He meets her surprised look with a smile.

They don't mention the fight. 

\---

"I can't believe the food rations are actually holding up,” Clarke says as they stand in the kitchen while one of their self-appointed cooks walks them through their stores. "We haven't had to make a trip back to the dropship for anything so far"

They leave the kitchen to walk slowly among the halls, checking in on various kids. 

"Even the medical supplies are going strong" Clarke says, "We may make it through the winter without having to make a trip out there Bellamy."

He smiles but looks worried "I'd hoped to send a couple of us out there to at least check on the damn thing"

"I'm sure it's fine, this is much safer."

"Maybe I just miss having a place we could disappear to in the middle of the day, no questions asked" and his grin is insinuating all the things that still makes her heart pound.

No one can find them for the rest of the day.

\---

They start sneaking into each other's rooms in the early dawn or dusk (not that the bunker makes it easy to tell which is which) and there is less of the frenzy to get each other's clothes off than there was at the start. Everything is slower and far more deliberate than it was at the start; a sort of familiarity that Clarke realizes only comes with time. 

She's coming to the slow truth that the situation between her and Bellamy may not be a passing fling that she needed to get out of her system. 

Bellamy has been falling asleep in her room more often, with an arm wrapped around her waist and snoring gently into the pillow she has to steal back in the middle of the night. He always falls asleep first while Clarke stays awake longer, fretting that a midnight emergency will out them to the group. 

He's always gone by the time she wakes up, but her blankets are always tucked carefully around her as if he takes great pains to make sure she doesn't notice his absence.  
\---

"Clarke?" the voice is timid and small and Clarke looks up from her notepad to see two girls standing in the doorway. She immediately notices the younger's flushed, feverish face.

The older girl clears her throat "Ellie hasn't felt good for a few days. Nothing major, just a stomachache and not wanting much food. But she got a fever last night and it hasn't gotten better and I wanted to bring it to you"

Clarke immediately ushers the two inside feeling both their foreheads. 

"How are you feeling Dina?" she asks and receives a shrug in response. 

"I'm feeling fine I guess? It's only Ellie that's sick"

Clarke turns her attention to the Ellie, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

With a small nod the little girl explains her bellyache and dizziness while Clarke mentally logs symptoms and tries to hide her mounting worry.

"So I'm gone go" says Dina after the account is finished. Clarke sets her mouth into a strained line and shakes her head, "Do you mind staying tonight? Ellie will do better with you around"

"You want me to stick around?" Dina asks and Ellie sheepishly nods from the bed. "Alright scoot over then" 

"I'm going to grab you both some water and start mixing up something to help you out"

As Clarke walks to the water pump she tries to calm her anxiety and tell herself that her worst fears won't be confirmed until tomorrow morning. 

"Watch where you're going Princess" Bellamy says grabbing her arm gently and steering her away from the wall she seemed intent on walking into. "Everything okay?"

She forces a smile "I've got patients tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning"

The disappointment on his face is brief but quickly replaced by a smile 

"Here's your water Princess" and his hand slowly releases her arm. She grabs the bowl back and starts to walk away. Before she rounds the corner to the infirmary she glances back to find Bellamy still standing where she left him.

\---

"We're cousins, at least that's what our moms' told us" Dina explains as she smooth's a sleeping Ellie's dark hair. "Ellie's mom got floated first and she was caught steeling food when she was 7. I couldn't let her be in there by herself, I still have two years left before I would have been floated. I thought I could figure out something."

"That is incredibly brave" Clarke says, wringing out another compress and placing it on Ellie's forehead.

"Or incredibly stupid and lucky. Either way, it turns out that it was worth it."

They fall into silence as Clarke prepares the medicine for Ellie to take when she wakes in the morning. 

"She's going to be okay right Clarke?" 

For the first time, Clarke hears the worry in Dina's voice.

When she looks up from Ellie to reassure her, she notices how red Dina's normally pale face is and the wooziness in her voice.

"Just rest" Clarke says helping her stretch out on the bed she's sharing with her younger cousin.

She doesn't take her own advice.

\---

 

"They both have a fever and neither is going down on its own."

It has been two days since Dina and Ellie first came with their ailments. Clarke has spent two days forcing water down their throats and smashing dried leaves and algae in hope of finding a winning combination. She's pacing the floors of Bellamy's small room as he sits on his bed. Bellamy reaches out as if to stop her from moving around but she evades his hand.

"Is that what has you so worried? You brought enough supplies."

Clarke stops and finally meets his eyes.

"Not enough if it's contagious. I can't stop this if it's contagious."

Bellamy drops his hand.

\---

He stops by the infirmary a few hours after her confession to find her fretting over her to sleeping patients. Bellamy steps towards her room and motions for her to follow.

"If we do have an outbreak how long will your stock hold up?" he asks closing the door behind them. 

"Dina and Ellie sleep in the girl's common room. If they just infected them, I'll be out of supplies in four days, a week at most." 

Bellamy grimaces "And you left extra supplies in the dropship?"

Clarke nods, confused "I stocked up for spring so that I wouldn't have to rebuild my basics when we got back."

As soon as the words are out of her mouth it dawns on her what Bellamy means to do.

"You can't go out there Bellamy,” she says trying to quell the rising panic in her chest "Dangerous doesn't even begin to describe it."

Bellamy just smiles and breezily responds, "I've already talked to Miller and Spacewalker. We can make that trip in two days."

"No" is the only thing she can think to say, trying vainly to organize her thoughts into the perfect string of words that will stop him from leaving.

"We have no other options Clarke." 

"There is always another option" She reaches for his hand "Let me think of one"

Bellamy shakes his head "It's decided. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

They fall silent and Clarke intently studies the floor of her room.

"I'm going to go look for Spacewalker and make sure he's told Raven" Bellamy says finally, pulling his hand from hers. He turns and steps towards the door but she reaches again and grabs the hem of his shirt.

"Not yet" she mumbles and when he turns back towards her, she steps closer and wraps her arms around him. He threads his arms around her waist. 

They stay like that, silent, until they hear footsteps and spring apart.

Octavia finds them at opposite corners of the room but wisely doesn't mention anything. For the remainder of the night, Clarke stays by Dina and Ellie trying hard to ignore Bellamy's voice booming through the bunker making last minute preparations. 

\---

"It'll just be a few days Princess." Bellamy teases the next morning in front of the 100 gathered to see them off.

She rolls her eyes at the nickname he only trots out in public. It's almost comforting for the briefest second to slip back into their old roles. Clarke can hear Raven listing to Finn all the precautions they need to take with her equipment that they plan to bring back. And Miller repeatedly assures her that he has his furs strapped on properly and has waterproofed everything he can. Clarke realizes that she's stalling.

"Alright" Clarke says after she's done once again reminding them of the early symptoms of hypothermia. She takes a deep breath and forces a grin, "I think you guys are ready."

Bellamy smiles, "This is the part where you declare your undying love for me"

And then he kisses her hard as Finn is opening the bunker door and Clarke swears she hears someone in the group dramatically gasp. Miller clears his throat and Bellamy breaks away but cups her cheek in his hand, staring at her intently.

"I'll be back before you know it"

And with that they step out into the blindingly white snow and slam the door behind them. The sound echoes in the bunker.

Clarke turns around very slowly to face the group. 

It is all silent until Raven questions if it's maybe time for food.

\---

 

She stays by the bunker door for most of the second day only leaving when another girl comes by complaining of the same symptoms that Dina and Ellie are still experiencing.

By the time Clarke collapses in her own bed, she's fighting the familiar feeling of once again being cheated.

\---

At the end of the fifth day, Clarke stops calculating their odds of survival and avoids walking by the bunker door at all cost. She works on keeping Ellie, Dina, and the four other patients fevers' down and only cries when Raven comes to find her with red eyes.

They sit together silently, gripping each other's hands like lifelines.

"They aren't coming back" Raven says her voice barely above a whisper.

Clarke can only shake her head no.  
\--

 

When Bellamy, Finn and Miller have officially been gone for a week, Jasper begs her to let him go after them and his eyes fill with tears as he pleads his case. 

Clarke is up to nine patients and hasn't slept since the third day. Ellie shows signs of recovery while Dina's breathing is so shallow that Clarke fears it may stop at any moment.

"You'll die out there Jasper,” she says and her voice sounds so hollow in her own ears, "I can't let you risk dying just to find their bodies."

Without another word Jasper storms out of the infirmary past Octavia standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry" Clarke says her voice close to breaking "I want to be selfish and let him go after them but I can't. I'm so sorry Octavia"

Octavia smiles sadly, the same grin Clarke noticed long ago that she shared with her brother, "It's what he would have done. Don't be sorry"

\---

Two weeks later, a mere day after Dina's fever breaks and the rest of her patients take a turn for the better, she finally makes it back to her own bed. She pulls the blankets that still smell faintly of Bellamy around herself and starts to doze off when she hears the banging on the bunker door. Three booming knocks that sound more like something being slammed against the door than an actual fist.

She rushes out of her room to already find Raven, Monty, and Jasper there. 

"Was that the knock you guys agreed you'd open the door to?" Monty asks nervously.

"It can't be them" Raven says "There's no way."

Any further argument is interrupted by another set of three booms.

"I'm going to open it" Clarke says "Get behind me with the guns."

With shaking hands Clarke turns the wheel lock and immediately feels the cold air seeping in from the cracks, and she steps back to let the outside wind finish swinging the door open.

Outside the sun is setting in fiery shades of red and orange and the snow is piled higher, and there they are looking battered and bruised and dragging what textbooks taught Clarke is an elk behind them. 

Distantly, she hears what she assumes is a gun clatter onto the floor as those who were behind her suddenly surge ahead, pulling Bellamy, Finn, and Miller (and the elk) out of the cold.

\---

Without many words, Clarke marches the three to the infirmary while trying to shake off the mob that's formed who are all shouting the very same questions that Clarke would like answered. Clarke lets Raven slide in before she sends the rest away and softly closes the infirmary door.

Each of the recently returned collapses onto one of the beds and Miller sighs blissfully. 

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Raven blurts out, already by Finn's side. "Also where's my tech?"

"I need to see fingers and toes. Any frostbite?" Clarke says absentmindedly. She finds that she hasn't actually been able to look at Bellamy since the door opened. 

Miller is the first to comply, removing makeshift gloves and socks to reveal all his digits still intact. 

"We made it to the dropship in a few hours after we left. But the next morning there was a storm or something. We could barely open the doors and I thought it would be safer to wait it out," she hears Bellamy explain behind her.

"But then the damn thing went on for a week and a half" grumbles Miller as he stands back up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Clarke protests, "You need to rest."

Miller just smiles "Dina's feeling better right? I want to go see her."

And before she can even argue, Miller is all but running out the door. Looking at both Clarke and Raven's confused faces, Finn laughs, "That's the only reason he agreed to come with us. He's been in love with her since we landed"

Finn holds up his hands, "I promise I still have all my toes too"

"That still leaves a few days" Raven says looking over at Bellamy who shakes his head. 

"It was not my damn idea to go after the elk."

Finn stands, "Yeah but it'll keep us fed through the rest of winter. Speaking of, I'm starving."

"I'll get you some food" Raven offers. 

"Let's just go together,” Finn says and Clarke notices him take Raven's hand. As they are almost out of earshot she hears him say "So about your equipment…"

She closes the door again.

"So is it my turn yet Princess?"

Clarke finally turns to face Bellamy. He's sporting a split lip, a random bruise on his left cheek, and the messiest hair he's ever had but all in all she marvels to see him still in one living and breathing piece. She walks over, "Let me see your hands"

He complies and she busies herself with checking them "Were you worried?"

She smiles softly "My co-leader took off with our best tracker and greatest sharpshooter. Of course I was worried."

Bellamy laughs and scoots over on the bed, "Sit with me. I've got to tell you the rest of the elk story. It's actually pretty funny." 

Clarke drops his hand but stays standing, biting her lip.

"Are you okay? He asks, "Did something happen while I was gone with your patients?"

She shakes her head no and leans over, feeling surprisingly shy as she presses her mouth to his. Bellamy almost immediately brings his hand into her hair to bring her closer. For the first time in two weeks, Clarke feels herself relax.

"So that was it,” Bellamy says softly when they break apart. 

Clarke smiles "No, actually I meant for something else to happen first."

"What was supposed to come first?" he says looking confused as Clarke straightens herself back up. 

Clarke takes a deep breath and tries hard to look him in the eyes.

"The part where I declare my love for you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you.
> 
> It's a simple phrase that I don't think I can use enough when it comes to all the comments, kudos, and bookmarks I received on this silly little story that only started because I wondered what a trip to the river would be like for Bellamy and Clarke. Thank you for all the comments asking when the next chapter would be and the encouragement. Thanks for reading my other stories. Thanks for sharing them on tumblr where I watched with silent amazement people actually reading what I wrote. This chapter is long over due and I probably should have broken it out into two but I finally sat down and promised myself there would be another chapter before the end of the week.
> 
> I think this story may only have another chapter or so left. I hope you'll stay with me until then!


End file.
